Holding our new baby for the First Time

Posted by Geraldine

The first time I got to hold Keren I was very apprehensive. The nurse was very considerate, and tried to help me relax. I tried to insist that Glenn held wee Keren first, as he had been able to be in with her for longer, but he was adamant that I was to hold her first. I was so nervous but I wanted to be able to hold her so much, just the way I had held her brother and sister, but all the wires and apparatus did not allow this.

As it was better for her not to be out of the incubator for too long, I only held her for a few minutes, and then placed her in her Daddy’s arms. (Glenn here: as Geraldine has said, working with the wires and having to keep the oxygen mask near her face, really limited the way we could hold her, but she felt so light and fragile, so lovely, and it really brought it home to me how privileged we were, and how much I loved her, already.)

Watching the Monitor

I can remember that at this early stage, I was looking at the monitor as much as I was looking at Keren, to see if the readings were as they should be. A nurse had explained what was being monitored, to help us understand what each reading meant. Although it was a bit overwhelming, to say the least, it was good to see just how closely Keren was being watched.

The SCBU was an extremely busy department in the hospital, and the staff really were wonderful. They all really did their jobs so well, looking after the babies and helping the worried families in every way they could. It was really nice to see a few familiar faces working in there, and they helped us to feel assured that they cared.

More to follow soon.

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